I don’t know what the word is, but there’s something to be said about reading the same book at a different stage/place/time in our life. That said, I recently revisited a book that was gifted to me years ago. The book is titled “59 Seconds” and is authored by Richard Wiseman (you can find a copy here).

The tagline of the book reads, “Think a Little, Change a Lot.” I always smile when I read that because I distinctly recall the gifter commenting on how much I overthink.

NOTE: I’ll be writing on that more a little later as I’ve stumbled upon another book which addresses just that; introversion (so check back and/or remind me to get reading!).

Backed with numerous studies and research, Wiseman provides four basic tenements for a “long-term sense of contentment,” they are:

Know how to use a pencil;

Know to keep the perfect diary;

Know how to carry out small acts of kindness; and

Know how to develop gratitude attitude.

To begin with, Wiseman explains how to incorporate effective writing techniques into our lives and even provides exercises for beginning our perfect diaries. Each exercise claims to take a few moments, but I tend to take a little longer…

I have never seen an episode of Mad Men; however, I do have a keen interest in martial arts and self-defense. So when an email landed in my inbox about “unarmed self defense,” I was quick to read it through (vs. leaving it unread and moving it to a folder titled, “to read after law school releases you from its death grip”). Okay, that’s not really what the name of the folder is, but a folder exists.

Anyway! I’ll write an update on life and law school soon. But for now, check out the link below and stay safe my ninjas. It’s mostly pictures and could potentially save your life. Do it.

Day 4New York based television sitcoms have taught me one thing –keep the fancy shoes in your purse andwear comfortableshoes to walk!

I live a 12-minute walk away from campus, 12 minutes isn’t bad, but in heels under the blazing sun, it’s got potential to be a little bad. So this afternoon (I can’t get into ‘arvo’), when the university had a formal welcome to the class of 2013 (oddly, they name classes by the year they started, not the year they graduate), I donned a ‘formal’ dress and took out my heels, put it in my purse, threw on my flip flops and walked to school.Smartest. Move. Ever.I got to campus and quickly slipped on the heels and made my way to the “Princeton Room” where we received “Class of 2013 pins” and were greeted by servers with drinks and platters of sushi. I mingled a little and then took a seat, the Vice Chancellor spoke about the history of the university. It’s younger than I am and was created by its namesake, Alan Bond. It’s a private not-for profit institution, meaning the (crazy) tuition we pay is used solely by the university, for the university. What brought me to Bond was the accelerated program. A degree that would take 4 years back home is only taking me 2 years here, so it was a no brainer; I’m ready to get lawyered! On the other side of that coin though, because of its accelerated programs, Bond has received its fair share of finger-pointing and credibility-questioning. From what I’ve experienced so far, this university and what it has to offer has been greatly underestimated. As the Vice Chancellor spoke, there was no arrogance or pretention, but humility as he explained the initial walkways were not made of the sandstone we see today, but yellow tape and iron rods that guided the way to classrooms in ‘89.

the name’s Bond..

A former student shared his experience, upon graduating he worked for the marketing department of the university and now works in Brisbane city. His ‘speech’ reminded me of when I was with the recruitment team at the University of the Fraser Valley (UFV) and we would go to high schools, talking about the university, why we chose UFV, the student clubs and associations, the importance of getting involved and the institutions interest in our growth and development. For a moment I wondered whether one day I’d be doing the same thing for this university. After all, they were starting to sound very similar…UFV didn’t have a great reputation, in the sense that it usually wasn’t a first choice right out of high school. It was considered the “back-up” school, in fact, it wasn’t until UCFV become UFV that I became a student there. Since its introduction as a university and its coinciding rebrand, the institution has come leaps and bounds ahead, making much progress in deconstructing that old school mentality/stigma of a transition institution. It might not have been my first choice, but inevitably became the right choice. Proving once again, that sometimes life knows what’s better suited for us than we do. In retrospect, I wouldn’t trade my UFV education to go anywhere else. UFV didn’t just give me an education; it gave me opportunities, experiences and outlets for everything I wanted to pursue. My gratitude towards UFV, the instructors who invested in me, the marketing department, student life, the centre of Indo-Canadian studies, the faculty and staff whom I had the pleasure of working with, the mentors I found along the way, and the friends who found me, is abundant. With all that I have taken from that university, whenever I am given the opportunity to give back, I will.

Today, as I was inducted into another institution, my “home” for the next two years, I felt deep appreciation for the home I left behind in UFV. In honour of that and for so much more, it’s time for me to show Australia what this Abbotsfordian has to offer.

“If you seek liberation, you must have more than an intellectual understanding of suffering, its causes, and the antidotes; you must practice for this understanding to mature. Just as a deer shot by a hunter retreats into solitude to heal itself, so too, you should withdraw from all superfluous activity. At the very least, occasionally withdraw into solitude in order to practice. As a result, you may realize the one taste of reality and cut through the divisions created by delusion, attachment, and hatred. Once you have gained this realization, you become as fearless and powerful as a snow lion. You have then achieved the state of confidence. At this point, your own self-interest is fulfilled as you observe all phenomena as displays of awareness. Having brought your own inner transformation to perfection with the motivation of being of benefit to others, you are now fully capable of serving others’ needs. This is the path of a true Dharma practitioner.”

Your children are not your children.
They are the sons and daughters of Life’s longing for itself.
They come through you but not from you,
And though they are with you yet they belong not to you.

You may give them your love but not your thoughts,
For they have their own thoughts.
You may house their bodies but not their souls,
For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow,
which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.
You may strive to be like them,
but seek not to make them like you.
For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.

You are the bows from which your children
as living arrows are sent forth.
The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite,
and He bends you with His might
that His arrows may go swift and far.
Let your bending in the archer’s hand be for gladness;
For even as He loves the arrow that flies,
so He loves also the bow that is stable.